The feature film debut for writer/director Adam Oldroyd, Sideshow is an odd, quirky UK indie film about an amateur psychic performer who's long passed his heyday, who's home is broken into by a couple of inept burglars, with one of whom he has a personal connection with. However, as the night goes on, both end up getting more than what they bargained for.
Sounds pretty straightforward, but it's pretty, weird, quirky and more odd than initially perceived. That's both to the film's strengths, as well as it's detriment. On the one hand, it's quite nice to have a movie this bizarre and quirky as opposed to being typically predictable and very straightforward, but it's quirkiness might make it unappealing to the common mainstream audience, so it's probably lacking in terms of wider appeal. It does have some dark, twisted humour sprinkled here and there!
Speaking of humour, the comedy in this film can be really hit-or-miss; for every joke that lands well, there's another that can be be pretty cringe-inducing. Then again, humour is very subjective, so how you process the humour is your call. What definitely helps this film are it's small quartet of performances; Les Dennis and Anthony Head are solid enough in their respective roles, Nathan Clarke is perfectly fine as the dimwit of the group, while April Pearson is excellent at being brilliantly deadpan while also not afraid of going a bit mad at times.
Sideshow is decent enough UK comedy thriller that can be rough around the edges, but enjoyable enough for what it is. Whether, it's quirky charm is your cup of tea is really up to you, but it's fun enough that it is worth a watch while it's there.
Sideshow is out now
